Halo: Fate
by Buzzkill5811
Summary: Could one small, unseen act of heresy change the outcome of the war? (Title subject to change)
1. Heresy (June 2517)

**Hey guys! This story was inspired by 8 hours of looking at a wall and a few great stories I have read recently. Keep in mind story is not 100% canon so it will venture from the timeline. Also I am short on time for this story along with my other so updates may be spaced out as well as the info may not hold 100% true to how the universe actually works in the way of a Sangheili traditions so please bear with me on that. **

**With all that being said I hope you enjoy. Though the plot of the story is planned out, what happens in the middle is not completely set in stone. If you have an idea you'd like to see feel free to send it to me. **

**Heresy (June 2517) **

**Rosha 'Sradomee POV**

The Elite stared down at her helmet. Satisfied at the condition it was in she proudly places the helmet on her head and turns back towards Unggoy accompanying her in the armory.

"Why do I keep you around. You knew this raid was tonight. Why have you waited until the last minute to clean my gear Dumbling?!" Rosha talked down to the servant, a small Unggoy named Dumlim. She often referred to him as a more insulting variant of his name. Dumlim was smaller than the usual Unggoy; runt of the pack if you will.

"M-Many apologies Misstress... I-" Dumlim stuttered out. Rosha cut him off.

"I tire of your excuses. Disappoint me one more time and I'll have your brothers polish it with your blood!... understand?" Rosha hissed.

Deep down Rosha couldn't have cared less as long as the deed was done. But she was aggravated by how she was looked at constantly. She was an outcast.

Traditionally speaking, female Sangheili were suppose to watch after home, take care of children, comfort a suitor whom could care less about her as long as she bears children and satisfies his needs.

That was the life Rosha was suppose to be living. She couldn't bear the thought of it. Luckily enough for her her genetics pulled through and saved her from the torturous fate she was intended to live. Shortly after her start of training for the Home Guard, her fighting skills and physical strength quickly brought attention from the Home Guard council. She surpassed all in her class, surprisingly equaling the strength and grit of even male Sangheili. Just before swearing the oath of the Home Guard the lead council member, along with a Sangheili General pulled her aside and offered her dream... a chance to join the Covenant army. She of course would have to prove her self to the General to show she was worthy of even his presence. That didn't take long. One round with a Sangheili in military training, handpicked by the General himself showed her potential.

Her parents nearly disowned her once they found out she was trying out to join the Covenant army. Ever since she was a youngling, her parents had tried time and time again to stir her away from her dreams of joining the armies. "You could never perform to the standards of their ranks" they'd say in attempts to squash her hope. And it nearly worked. Until one fateful day that General showed up.

"Y-yes Mistress! It won't happen again!" The Unggoy hastily responded.

"Get out in my sights" she snarled as she grabbed her weapons; a Type 25 DER (Direct Energy Rifle) and Type 25 DEP (Direct Energy Pistol)

"At once!" Dumlim said as he rushed out of the armory.

"Stupid Unggoy..." Rosha mumbled to herself as she grabbed the rest of her gear.

Time of departure was coming on fast. Rosha, pleased with what she had, made her way for the docking bays.

The other squads had already started loading into the phantoms.

General Thal 'Vugamee watched over as the Troops filed into the dropships.

Another invasion. A few prior to the op Covenant intelligence officers uncovered yet another human colony. The humans referred to this colony as Eridanus II. Their orders were to, as usual wipe the surface clean if all vermin.

"Rosha... you're late... I'm surprised they keep you here" Major Khivu 'Hatumee snarled out to her as she entered the phantom.

It took every fiber in her body to keep her from punching the Major. She ignored the Sangheili and made way to her station.

"All who walk the blessed path will find salvation, even in death.

Out of darkness, these blades will light our way.

Glory and honor guide our ascension.

On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons.

The true devotee honors our name with actions, not words.

Victory is secured not from the throne, but from the frontlines.

With this sacrament of blood we journey into the divine beyond"

The troops echoed the Oath of the Covenant as the ship departed for the surface.

The planets primitive orbital defenses have already been dealt with leaving the planet completely defenseless.

Unlike most human planets they invade, rather than glassing the planet, it was to act as bait to lure in the humans military, the UNSC, so they could wipe out yet another one of their fleets.

Rosha's target was a small city on the coast of the planets mainland.

Despite being proud of her own accomplishments of joining and rising to the rank she has within the Covenant army, the war they were fighting was a bit odd to her.

_'What made the humans so bad?' _She knew of the stories the prophets have told of there unholy nature and background but other than the prophets word there has been no proof of the heresy they are accused of committing so long ago. She of course never voiced her opinions... doing so would be heresy in its self it question anything a prophet says. What they state is law and all those who oppose in anyway are shamed, dishonored, and executed. Not what she wanted to happen to her or her family name.

"LZ is secured. We will be there shortly... prepare yourselves" a voice boomed throughout the ship.

The aircraft slowed to a halt and opened the side hatches.

"Go brothers... cleanse this planet of all whom are unholy!" The same voice boomed.

Rosha and her squad leaped from the craft. The other troops split to there assigned zones.

"Ready yourselves" Rosha stated. Her team consisted of two minor Elites and three Unggoy. The only person she truly knew was Khaze 'Daramee. The only Elite she has ever met whom accepted her into the ranks. The others respected her only for her rank. But Khaze was the only one who seemed to look past the fact that his commanding officer was a female.

The group readied there weapons and began making their way down the hillside.

It was a slaughter. This planet had no military. Or if it did it was a weak one. Most of the humans Rosha came across were civilian. But orders were orders. Honorable or not.

The only true resistance were these men in black uniforms. They didn't have anything bigger than a rifle. At least they were armed though.

The civilians ran as Rosha and her team moved in, killing all who came across their path. They didn't stand a chance.

The act disgusted Rosha. Yes these... creatures were unholy and evil in nature but that doesn't justify this dishonorable tactic.

For the Sangheili, to not give an opponent a chance at an honorable duel was seen as a crime.

But, it was the will of the prophets she'd tell herself.

"Rosha, take you and your team to the eastern sector of the city, we'll cover the west" the communication devise rang in her ear.

"Understood... Brothers, our fight moves east towards the shores"

Hundreds from bodies laid in there wake. Killed in cold blood. They found themselves in a sectioned if part of the city. The section had many small building within.

_'Civilian living quarters maybe?' _Rosha thought to her self as they entered the sector.

It has already been hit.

"Split up, search the building for any survivors... Khaze, split Unggoy and search this section. Ruan, take the remaining Unggoy and head further East. We'll link up once our work here is done"

"Yes, ma'am... happy hunting" Ruan forced himself to say ma'am. He may be set in his old ways but she was still his superior.

The group split and started searching the houses. Out of the first five house she only found three humans. It tore at her honor to kill them but to do other wise was death.

She kicked in the door to the sixth house. The room was lifeless. She caught sight of blood trail rounding the corner and began moving towards the back of the building.

She readied her weapons and rounded the corner.

Two human corpses leaned against the corner of the wall, one grasping to the other. She lowered her weapons and continued her search.

Rosha moved upstairs and began half-heartedly searching a small, tiled room. Just before giving up on the building a small clanking noise followed by a short gasp emitted from an adjacent room.

_'Why couldn't you have waited?'_ She mentally asked the human as she made her way to the room.

Rosha readies her Plasma Rifle and kicks in the door.

A small boy in the center of the room gasped, dropped something, and crawled back towards the corner of the room.

"Dammit" she cursed to herself.

Killing unarmed non-combatants was one thing but a kid...

Tears ran down the kids face. He must have been the their child.

Her mind was split. To not kill this child was seen as a rebellious act, punishable by her family name being tainted and death. Killing this boy breaks the Sangheili code of honor. It was a lose lose scenario. Even with a weapon this kid probably couldn't sufficiently defend himself.

The crying kid stared up at her in terror.

Rosha aimed the plasma rifle at him.

He sniffles his nose a little and slammed his eyes shut.

We killed his parents, he'll surely grow up to become a soldier of their armies. She tried justifying the murder anyway she could.

Even with the justifiable thoughts, this went against every fiber of her being.

"What is holding you?... do you require assistance? Our area is secured..." Khaze buzzed in through the communicator. Rosha jumped at the sound of his voice.

That would have been bad if he saw what was going on right now.

Rosha sighed in defeat and lowered the rifle. She turned away from the child and clicked on the communicator and responded to the Sangheili "no, this area is clear... meet up with Ruan. I'll be there shortly"

"Yes ma'am" Khaze responded.

She turned back toward the small human, whom never took sights off of her.

"You shouldn't be here... why'd you have to make a sound. You couldn't have just stayed still for a few unites longer" she vented.

The kid Sunk deeper into the corner. He couldn't understand her of course. For all he knew she just blurted out a Sangheili war cry.

She frustratedly half raises the rifle at him. It seemed heavier than ever. She willed the weapon to misfire so it would be over with but nothing happened.

She couldn't bring herself to conduct the dishonorable deed.

She sighs, holsters the rifle and begins to turn away. She stopped one last time before leaving. She stared down at her rifle still split on what to do.

Her eyes were drawn off the rifle and trained on what the kid dropped when she entered. It was a strange, brown fuzzy object. She bent over to pick it up. It was soft.

_'What is this thing' _Rosha found the object interesting. Her concentration was broke by a small wisp from the boy. He stared between her and the object.

"Count yourself lucky human..." she tried to sound and look as harmless as possible. A bit hard to do when loaded down with weapons and covered in blood. She walked up to the human who shut his eyes and cowered back into the corner.

A few moments pass and the kid reopen his eyes to see the stuffed object held in front of his face.

He timidly reaches out for the thing and quickly pulls it to his chest and hugs it with all his strength.

Fearing she would get caught. Rosha rushes out of the room and makes her way back to her squad.

As she exited the building the communicator buzzed in"... General Thal 'Vugamee to all unites. Prepare yourselves... the human army has arrived..."

**Well there's chapter 1 hope you enjoyed. Like I said earlier training is currently hindering me from updating as often as I want to, but they will come in time. **


	2. Orion Project (June 2517

**Sup, back with chapter two. Going to try to get through the set up for the story so it can get to the actual plot here. Hope you enjoy!**

**Orion Project (June 2517)**

**John's POV**

John stared up at the Elite towering over him in fear. It was Definitely going to kill him. It probably was the one that killed his parents. He was sure that they were dead. They left him in the room to hide while they went to "check something out" and never returned.

John cowered into the corner as deep as he could. The Elite stared down to him. The thing was terrifying. It had to be at least seven... maybe even eight feet tall. Through the small openings on its helmet John could see a scar running from its right eye down through its mandibles.

Fearful of the end drawing near, John shut his eyes and waited for the creature to kill him. After what had to have been nearly a minute, John slowly opened up his eyes once again. And staring back at him was his favorite toy. A somewhat old, brown, fuzzy stuffed bear his mother bought for him at a fair so many years ago.

All his focus was drawn to the bear. He quickly reached for it and pulled it into his chest, hugging as tight as he can. It was all he had left of his parents. He knew it. Elites were known for there ruthless... why did it give him the bear.

John has never seen an Elite in person before nor any videos of how they acted but when he thinks ruthless... this doesn't come to mind.

He stared up at the Elite while clinching his bear. It was saying something to him. He was unsure though; it didn't speak English.

Without warning the red armored creature turned and shot out of the room, leaving the boy in the corner.

He stayed there for a good ten minutes re-running what had just happened back in his mind.

After the recovering from the encounter John ventured from the room with his fluffy friend. His legs were still a bit shaky.

The rest of the house was dull. A boring grey dominated most of the rooms. John slowly made his way downstairs; unsure if the Elite was still there or not.

The living room looked clear. Everything was a mess... holo communicator was smashed, couch ripped up, table flipped, there were a few plasma burns scattered around the walls, the floor leading to the kitchen was stained with blood. Red blood.

Steeling himself up for the truth, John followed the trail. The thought of what could be around the corner made him feel sick. The more he followed the longer it seemed to get. Finally he rounds the corner.

Laying in the corner of the kitchen was his parents. Both were dead.

"Mom!!... Dad!!" John dropped the bear and ran to his parents. He curled up underneath his mother's arm and cried into her shoulder.

"No... I'm... I'm sorry... please forgive me..." John softly cried to them. He sat there, buried in his own thought of how he was to blame for this.

A loud crash in the other room pulled him from out of his head.

"Move, move! Head up, we got down here" John heard someone shout.

No more than five seconds pass before a two men pile into the room, aiming weapons all around the kitchen.

The one nearest to him pulled something from a pocket in his armor and holds up a small data pad up, all while keeping the gun trained on the ground in front of John.

"Package located... we got 'em" the intimidating man yelled to his teammates.

Another fighter walked into the room. He was different from the rest of them. He was of darker tone. Rather than a helmet, this man had dark green hat. He looked less hostile but more intimidating. If John knew anything about how the military worked or what he's seen in movies this man looked to be the leader.

The leader pulled a sagar from his mouth, blew the smoke to the side and stared at the boy. "Hey John, How'd you like to go for a little trip?"

John wasn't given an opportunity to answer. One of the Marines grabbed him and lead him from the house.

"Get him out of here now!" The Marine yelled as he handed John over to another man. The man took him, sat in the front seat of a military vehicle and placed John in his lap.

"Don't worry little man, we'll get you far from here in no time"

The Warthog speed off away from the city. All John could focus on was the city sized fire behind them and the distant gunfire. This was his home. It was all he ever knew and loved. Now it was another war zone, destroyed by the Covenant.

The drove up a mounting side just outside of the city. Waiting for them on top was a military aircraft.

"Alpha package secured, we need to get him off planet now!"

John was given to another Marine onboard the back of the aircraft.

"We gotcha" John could nearly hear him over the roar of the engine.

The aircraft shot for orbit.

"This is Pelican Bravo 5811, Package on board, eta three minutes"

The men in the front of the aircraft spoke into the comms equipment.

The flight was short. John could barley reflect on anything that had happened before they made touchdown.

John was escorted off the aircraft and walked over to a small room.

Everything was silver, there was a small sink and mirror on the far side of the room right next to a toilet.

John found the only place comfortable to sit on was a small mattress. Nothing happens for hours. Despite his best efforts John couldn't fight off his fatigue. He curled up into a ball and fell asleep. His last thoughts were of his parents and that Elite.

John woke up. He had no idea how long he had been out. To his surprise he found next to him a dark grey uniform; stitched in it was: John-117 in nearly glowing white threads.

Without putting much thought into it he placed on the uniform. It tightly fit his body structure perfectly, yet didn't restrict his movement. His name tape placed just above the right side of his chest.

As he looked into the mirror, admiring his new military looking uniform a loud buzzing sound rang through the room as a red light just above the door lit up. The door open.

John walked out into a hallway. To his surprise, there were more his age leaving their rooms in confusion. All of them wore the same uniform. A door on the far end of the hall way opened. Naturally the mass of kids wobbled into the space. It was large. Circular in shape. In the center stood a large stage surrounded by rows of seats. On the stage were a few UNSC Marines and a lady. She didn't look too military. She looked more like a doctor with the white coat she wore.

Her hair was cut to her shoulders. Though not military she was clearly the one in charge of whatever was going on here.

The room was filled with chatter. The kids were anxious and filled with confusion.

"Shut it, file it in from the front" a very battle harden Man yelled out to the group of kids.

They listened at once. The chatter cut down to a deafening silence as the kids filled in the seats.

Nothing happened for nearly ten minutes. No one dare spoke. Marines stood as statues near the around the stage and near all the exits. The lady in the center shuffled around some papers, occasionally glancing up at the kids. She picked up the final paper, flipped it around and placed it on a podium to her right and placed her focus on the crowd.

"Mendez, you're good" she said to the man.

Without skipping a beat the man along with all the Marines filed out of the room leaving the lady the only one left in the room with the children.

"Welcome aboard the UNSC Burning edge. I am doctor Catherine Halsey. Each of you have been hand selected to participate in a military project code named Orion. Do you have any questions? This is your last chance to voice them" No one spoke. They were all to fascinated or scared to say or ask anything. "Very well..." she continued "Humanity is at the brink of collapse in this new war effort against the Covenant. We, at our militaries current status, are nearing extinction as their fleets wipe out colonies each day. Our strategy are not working. We are constantly out gunned and out maneuvered we need a change in plan. That's when Orion comes in. Each and ever one of you stand as humanities last hope and chance for survival..." Her words turned foreign to John. He couldn't believe this was happening. Only a yesterday his biggest concern was getting a good grade on a math test and now he's suppose to pull humanity away from the grasp of death. How's that even possible. He was only six. John was to deep in thought to catch anything this doctor had to say. He wanted to go home...

Home... he had no home. It was destroyed by this Covenant. All he had ever known and loved taken from him within a few hours. Why would they do such a thing. We have done nothing to them... have we?

"... you have already me CPO Mendez. He and his instructors will be with you every second of everyday through this process. You will be pushed to and passed your physical and mental limits..."

CPO Mendez enters the room and makes his way to the stage.

"Get up and return to your rooms"

The kids got up and began making way for the doors. John walked up to Mendez " what ar-" his question was stopped by a fist to his stomach. John fell to the ground gasping for air.

"You stand at attention when addressing a superior. You had your time for questions 117. Get up and get to your room... now" he said in a stern voice. He pulled out a electric baton from his belt, activated it a belt it to Johns face.

John groaned in pain and began getting up.

Mendez struck him in his back forcing him back to the ground.

"You will suffer in silence cadet" Mendez glared at him.

John as silent as possible returned to his feet and quickly made his way back to his room.

He was in too much pain to be angry. His back burned from the baton. John laid out on the bed and forced himself to fall asleep.

A loud alarm blared. The door shot open. A red light rotated illuminating the dark hallway.

"Get up! Move move move!" One of Mendez's instructors run up and down the hallway wielding one of those electric batons. The blue hue to the stick glowed against the shadows.

John pulled his aching body from the bed and made his way to the hall way. The door opposite of the one yesterday opened up. John stood in the hall way and stared into the open door.

A sharp shock of pain ran down his back. John spun around to see the instructor standing there, baton extended towards his face. "Move it cadet"

Out of fear of getting struck again John made his way through the door. On the other side was a hanger filled with Pelican drop ships.

A shorter man with a data pad sat at a desk. Kids were all lined up in front of him.

"Name?" The man asked John as he stepped up.

"My name is Joh-" he was cut off by the man.

"Name" he asked again a bit more annoyed.

"John-" he attempted to answer again. That man grew impatient.

"Name cadet. Not you birth name, you can go ahead and forget that. Serial number." He angrily stated.

"...117" John exclaimed in defeat.

"Ok, 117, you will be aboard pelican Bravo 215, go now"

John made his way to a large B painted wall. A few other kids were walking the same direction.

Bravo hanger had around eight Pelicans in it. One had B215 painted on the back. A group of around eight kids stood at the back along with a Marine. John joined the group of kids.

After about twenty minutes one more kid arrived and the Marine began reading off names.

"...Felix-116, John-117, Shawn-118..."

The kids filed into the Pelican as there names were called off.

The ride was short and uneventful. The Marine took the seat closest to the door of the Pelican.

Once they hit planet-side the door reopened. It was dark out.

"Lets Go, Line up, move move!" An instructor was out ordering the Kids where to go.

"Welcome to Reach" a familiar female voice sounded from multiple speakers.

Their training has begun.

"Go, now! Move move" Instructors all over where ordering them to move. John has no idea what was going on. He just knew that the mass of kids were rushing towards a mountain. He followed.

Kids to his left, right, and rear were being struck with the batons. John tried to take his mind off of the sights and made his way up the hill.

His body ached. His joints were in pain and his mind was all over the place. He had no clue what was going on or why they need to be up the hill.

"You all want to be slow and complain, tight let's go back and try this again" the lead Marine said as he turned around and led them back down the hill.

This was to be his life for nearly a decade. Continues physically and mentally challenging tasks designed for failure, however there success was demanded.

————————————————

**(March 2526)**

"Today is the day you have been waiting for. The day you transform into the perfect soldier. You all have worked hard for this day, and it shall be remembered as humanities first steps into the future..." CPO Mendez was in front of the group of young teens giving some grand speech again. He was right though. Today was that day. Eight long hard years he went through to get here. Out of it he obtained squad leader and was promoted to Petty Officer First Class. He grew close too two other cadets through this time here. Sam and Kelly. The three looked out for each other.

John sat with his two friends during the brief. "...Out those doors are doctors who will lead you to you respective op rooms" he gestured towards two opening doors. Men wearing white coats poured in with data pads. The cadets filed off by rows to the men.

"Name?" One of the doctors he walked up to asked.

"117" he said plainly.

The doctor swiped the pad and then looked up at him. "Right this way"

The doctor lead him at first towards the same set of rooms all the others were lead too but just before joining the rest of the cadets he made a sharp left turn down a hallway leading to a single room.

"What's going on, aren't the rooms back that way" John's curiosity got the better of him.

"Yes but... Halsey has something different in mind for you 117"

John mentally picked at what the doctor stated. What did he mean by different?

John was left alone in the room. Five minutes into him waiting an AI addressed him from the overhead speakers.

"Service tag?"

"117" he answered.

"Voice recognition authorized, good morning 117, I am Cordex, medical AI aboard the UNSC Burning Edge. At this time if I could have you lay down on the table in front of you, head towards the door"

He complied. The moment he laid down restraints locked him in place. He panicked a little bit. Around the side of the tables six mechanical arms popped out holding needles.

John eyes the needles as they slowly approached him. One to each limb and two to his head.

"Try to remain calm, you will feel only a slight pinch"

The AI's attempt to calm him down failed for the most part.

He slowed his breathing and stared up at the lights, doing anything he could think of to keep his mind off the needles.

Each needle inserted itself into him before he realized it. A little bit more than a 'slight pinch' ran throughout his whole body. His muscles constricted his mind went blank.

The augmentations only took a minute. Once complete the needles slowly drew from him. He fell unconscious from the experience.

Two days passed before he woke up. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Two figure stood beside him at his bed.

A familiar female voice greeted him as he rose from the bed "Good afternoon Spartan"

**Alrighty now, with that out of the way we can move on to the plot. Hope you're enjoying this. **


	3. The Test

**What's up, ok to clear things up a little this story is not going along the lines of the actual timeline.**

**Yes you're correct, the Spartans were a thing before the war. However I need to alter that in order to throw something in that will come to play later. **

**Also the female Sangheili. Yeah, not in the real Covenant army but a small twist I wanted to experiment with. Sorry if this comes off as harsh. I'm on a bit of a time crunch. Will be until September. Thanks for the comments. Hope this cleared some stuff up. Hope you all enjoy! **

**The Test**

**Spartan's 117's POV**

**(May 2526)**

"Spartan..." Mendez stood at his door. The Spartan stood up, now towering over the CPO. Though he was fourteen the augmentation they had gone through boosted his growth spurt among many other things. "... It's time"

Mendez left the Spartan to gather his thoughts. It's been a full month now since his augmentations. He was still adjusting to his new... abilities.

The Spartan left the room and made his way down the hall towards the briefing room. In there stood the doctor, Mendez, and an officer. 117 snapped to attention and rendered a salute.

"At ease" The Spartan went to parade rest. "I'm sure you know why you're here Soldi-... Spartan" the officer glanced over some papers, making sure he was getting it right.

"Yes sir" 117 said coldly.

"We have little intel to tell you, you are to infiltrate a small Covenant base on Former colony world Corvi II. Last year it fell to the Covenant. Now they use it as a post to stage attacks against our fleets. It also, we believe, holds crucial information that could help us turn the tide of this war..." the officer peels off his cover, revealing his grey hair. "... our resources are low, we're running out of options. You're all we got. Avoid confrontation with there army's. Lethal force authorized only if necessary. Try to stay to the shadows as best you can"

"Sir" The Spartan nodded and started for the armory. Before he made it to the door Halsey pipped in.

"Oh, you won't be needing your old armor or weapons for this mission, we got something else in mind..." Halsey said as she gestured to the wall. The wall slowly split. White steam flowed from the growing crack.

The expanding hole revealed armor. But there was something different about this armor. The helmet had a orange colored visor covering up the entire face. The armor had thick, olive green plating that covered all of the body. It was massive, standing at around seven foot two inches. Painted on the left chest plate was a shining white 117.

The Spartan looked over to Halsey who only gestured for him to put it on. He slowly walked up to the armor and pulled down the helmet. It was lighter than it looked. He heard a small gasp from behind him. He turned to see surprised stares from the officer who turned towards the doctor.

"That helmet weighs no less than eighty pounds and he's holding like... I know you said you... changed them but..." he looked back at the Spartan who began suiting up.

The process took twenty minutes. It fit perfectly. He went to grab the weapon on the mount next to the armor stand and accidentally smashed the wall to nearly crushing the weapon.

"The suit has a built in hydronic system tapped into your neural lace... what you do it amplifies..." Halsey chuckles.

"Right..." 117, mindful of what she said, carefully grabbed the gun. It was an M392 DMR outfitted with an advanced scope and silencer. He was surprised by how light it was. He wasn't sure if it was the augmentations or the weapon. If he wasn't looking at it he would have believed there was nothing in his hands. It felt essentially weightless.

Inspected the weapon and placed it on the magnetic mount on his back. He grabbed the second weapon. It was an M7/ Caseless SMG. He inspected the weapon and placed on the magnetic holster on his thigh.

"When do we move?"...

... "ETA ten minutes, ready yourself" the unsteady pilot stated from the cockpit. The Spartan shifted his shoulders, seeing if the armor restricted his movement; it did not. The ten minutes seemed like a long time to him. He was still getting use to it. Time seemed to have slowed down slightly enough to make a noticeable difference after his augmentations.

"Green light. Drop now!" The pilot exclaimed. The Spartan was gone before she could even finish the order.

It was dark out. The Spartan pulled out his silenced DMR and activated the his suits night vision system.

His target was due East ten klicks. He only had two hours left of night to operate in. It would have to do.

He slowed his pace two klicks out from the location. His motion tracker showed minimal movement about twenty five meters out. Another patrol. He knew he was drawing close. The patrol groups were more frequent. They looked odd. He saw pictures of Covenant forces but he's never seen one in person before. Well all except an Elite many years ago. Most of the species that associated themselves with the Covenant were smaller than him. All except the Elites, Bravo Kilos (Brutes), and Hunters. Most of the unites he saw were minor Elites and Grunts. The occasional Jackal would be spotted.

The objective was over then next hill. "This is Spartan 117 to Bravo Echo actual... Nearing objective. Moving in..." 117 rushed up and over the hill; avoiding a single patrol near top of the hill. The Covenant base was huge. Heavy activity. Banshees swarmed over the base like insects.

"Spartan... the object you're looking for is a small info-scanner. It's small, should be black or purple. Sending possible coordinates to your HUD now" as the transmission cut out a small blue diamond materialized in the Spartans visor. It hovered over a small building about two hundred meters past the outer wall.

The Spartan snuck up to the wall. Only Elite Ultra stood guard. Shouldn't be a problem. He sighted in on the alien. It stood there looking out towards the hills.

He held his sights on the Elite for the better of a minute. His memory tugged at him. His training taught him that these were ruthless creatures that kill without thought. Why didn't that one kill him then. The Elite didn't notice him and he could probably find another way around. The Spartan mentally sighed and lowered the weapon. The scanned the wall. There seemed to be a weak point not too far. It may be a bit louder but he could try climbing in that way.

With one last look at the Ultra, he went with the plan. Despite his size he was quite silent. With little difficulty, he landed on the opposite side of the wall. Avoiding many groups of Covenant he managed to sneak his way to the building. Before entering he performed one small brace check in his DMR and SMG. Seeing the weapons as ready as he was he infiltrated the building. The room only had two Grunts in it. The poor bastards had no idea what hit them literally. One round killed the one standing on the far side of the room. The second one, startled, spun around only to meet a blade. The Spartan led the body to the ground to avoid any unnecessary noise. Once clear 117 began his search for the black/purple box. Didn't take too long. The Covenant didn't expect anyone to try and break in. It was laying in one of the counter tops. The Spartan picked up the small Black box and placed it on a magnetic holder on the back of his hip.

"117 to Bravo Echo actual. Package sec-" He herd a small shuffle at the door. Without hesitation he pulled out the SMG and swung his arm out towards the door.

An Elite minor filled the doorway. It stared back at him. 'I wonder if he thinks I'm a human' he thought. It looked around at the two dead Grunts. With a battle cry it pulled out a plasma rifle and began firing at him. Almost sensing the creature's action he began firing at the Elite. The SMG quickly tore through the Elites shielding system. The last few rounds in the clip cut through the Elites armor and into the aliens upper torso. It howled in pain and fell back dropping the rifle. Seeing the Elite desperately reaching for the Plasma Rifle the Spartan ran up and stepped on its wrist, trapping it to the ground. He switched to the DMR and held it to the Elites face. "Don't make me..." the Elite stared back into his faceplate and muttered something. He has been doing a little bit of studying into their language but he wasn't anywhere good enough to understand them yet.

His slight interest in what the creature said backfired. A sharp pain tore into his abdomen. It nicked him off balance; he took a few steps back as knelt down to comfort the pain. The Elite has a demonic laugh as it believed it killed him with his plasma pistol. The laugh was cut short.

The Elite looked at him in complete shock as the Spartan began to stand back up. The Elite frantically took aim to fire another shot but it was too late. A single DMR round buried itself into the Elite's head.

The Spartan looked down at the wound. Not bad. The armor took most of the burning plasma. A little made it to his skin but luckily didn't cause too much damage.

"117 to Bravo Echo actual. Object secured. Contact with Covenant eminent... moving to LZ, ETA five minutes..." he was outside before he finished the transmission. Multiple Covenant forces fired at him immediately.

"Roger 117, Drop ship in rout. Get the hell out of there"

The Spartan returned fire. He prioritized unshielded targets. Running towards the wall he discharged seven round front the DMR. Three Jackals and four Grunts simultaneously dropped. The Elite Ultra stood at the exit, energy sword ignited. It swung at him as he approached. The Spartan left stepped, effective avoiding the attack and put the Elite in an arm bar and threw him to the ground with enough force to knock out its shields. He put the DMR to its head. It stared back at him in hatred, accepting the honorable defeat, however the Spartan pulled the DMR away and ran off into the hills.

117 deployed a few smoke screen grenades to mask his escape. He sprinted down a small valley. He rounded the corner and found a Pelican drop ship with two Marines posting security waiting for him.

He rushed into the Pelican followed by the Marines. Before the last Marine made his way to one of the seats a small green projectile burned through his chest, killing him immediately. The first Marine dove deep into the drop ship. 117 aimed back were the round came from and spotted that Ultra Elite aiming a still-smoking Carbine. He should have killed it when he had the chance. Angered by the Marnies death 117 fired at the Elite. It's shields were back up and the drop ships door sealed before he could kill it.

The other Marine was in shock. From seeing his partner killed in cold blood and the Spartan. He knew the UNSC was working in something to help them in the war but this... it was huge, completely metal, and silent. A silent giant. He wasn't all too sure it was human. Maybe machine. Either way it looked deadly.

The Spartan carefully flipped the corps and covered the body with a small sheet the Marine found in the Pelican.

The Marine broke the silence "what are you?" He asked shakily. The Spartan glanced at him before resuming his stare at the ground with no verbal answer.

The Marine gave up on the conversation out of fear of annoying the silent giant. The Spartan wasn't annoyed at him or ignoring him. He was simply contemplating the question. What was he? Found himself asking himself the very same question ever since that operation. He was one of the few that survived. Most of his brothers and sister were killed during the operation. He felt better than every but dirty at the same time. Born in cold blood to spell blood. That was his purpose. Kill those threatening humanity. To fail would be the end of humanity. A lot of weight rested on his shoulder and only very few live to share the weight with.

Before they knew it they were docking with Burning Edge. The door of the Pelican opened revealing the same officer from earlier.

Both the Marine and Spartan snapped to attention and rendered a salute.

"Sir" they said in unison

"At ease... your relived Marine" The Marine took that as his cue to leave.

"Well done Spartan, flawless victory. We have been needing something to give us hope for this war..." the officer removed his cover.

"Well... almost flawless sir" The Spartan stated.

The officer looked passed the Spartan at the Diseased Marine.

"Don't beat yourself over it. You did all you could, I'm sure you did. There is always a cost..." the officer took the small black box from the Spartan.

"1st lieutenant Keys... Captain Morgan wants you the bridge ASAP..." an AI blasted from the over head speakers.

"Well, looks like Captain needs my guidance again..." Keyes joked. "See you around Spartan"

**Hope you enjoyed! See ya next time!... hopefully. **


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